An Overview of ITIL Intermediate Service Lifecycle Qualifications

Information Technology Infrastructure Library or ITIL is a framework of best practices for IT service management (ITSM), which was developed by the UK government in the 1980s. Drawing on best practices from international public and private sector companies, the ITIL framework acts as a guide to provide high-quality IT services and processes, as well as the functions and capabilities that support them. This framework has undergone several revisions, and the current version is ITIL v3 2011.

Several renowned organizations have adopted ITIL practices to attain their ITSM objectives and enhance customer satisfaction. These include NASA, UK National Health Service, HSBC bank, Walmart, Sony, Toyota and Disney.

All around the world, IT service professionals have been able to improve their job performance and career prospects by earning ITIL certifications. After the entry-level ITIL Foundation, ITIL Intermediate offers two streams of study: Service Lifecycle and Service Capability. If you already have knowledge of ITIL Foundation concepts, then getting certified in the ITIL Intermediate Service Lifecycle stream is the next step to advancing your knowledge of the framework. Find out more about this stream below.

ITIL Intermediate Service Lifecycle

ITIL Intermediate Service Lifecycle is broken into five core guides that together enable organizations to bring about business transformation and get on the path to growth. The Service Lifecycle starts with identifying customer needs and the drivers of IT change, then moves on to the design of the service, its execution, and ultimately, its management and improvement.

As individual modules offered within the ITIL Intermediate Service Lifecycle certification, these steps are known as:

• Service Strategy

• Service Design

• Service Transition

• Service Operation

• Continual Service Improvement

ITIL Intermediate Service Lifecycle Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for any of the Service Lifecycle module certifications, you need to satisfy the following requirements:

• You need to be ITIL Foundation certified

• Successful completion of an accredited course for the module from an ITIL ATO

• Work experience of two years in IT is recommended

ITIL Intermediate Service Strategy (SS)

According to the ‘ITIL: The Basics White Paper’, with the ITIL Intermediate Service Strategy certification, you can understand who the IT customers are, and which service offerings are required to meet their demands. You will get to know the IT capabilities and resources needed to develop the service offerings. You will also be able to evaluate whether your organization’s cost of delivery of the IT service is consistent with the value delivered to the customer.

This credential is best suited for you, if you are involved in any of these roles:

• IT Manager

• Supplier Relationship Manager

• IT Finance Manager

The certification course will introduce you to the following aspects of service strategy:

• Introduction to service strategy

• Service strategy principles

• Service strategy processes

• Governance

• Organizing for service strategy

• Technology considerations

• Implementing service strategy

• Challenges, critical success factors and risks

ITIL Intermediate Service Design (SD)

Having an ITIL Intermediate Service Design certification demonstrates that you can effectively design new services or modify existing ones, in order to satisfy customer requirements. You will learn how to manage technology, which is considered an integral part of this module, and processes cost-effectively through the certification training program.

This certification is best suited for you if you are involved in any of the following IT roles or areas:

• Capacity Manager

• Availability Manager

• Business Continuity Manager

• Service Portfolio Manager

• Service Level Manager

After earning your ITIL Intermediate Service Design credential, you will have knowledge of the following aspects of the ITIL framework:

• Introduction to service design

• Service design principles

• Service design processes

• Service design technology-related activities

• Organizing for service design

• Technology considerations

• Implementation and improvement of service design

• Challenges, critical success factors and risks

ITIL Intermediate Service Transition (ST)

The ITIL Intermediate Service Transition certification demonstrates that you have acquired sufficient knowledge to build, test and move the design into production in order to deliver the desired value to the customer. It also displays your ability to manage the change and ensure that all users and support personnel are prepared for the production release.

This certification is ideal for you, if you are involved in any of these IT roles, or other related ones:

• Configuration Manager

• Change Manager

You will have knowledge of the following aspects of service transition, after certification course completion:

• Introduction to service transition

• Service transition principles

• Service transition processes

• Managing people through service transitions

• Organizing for service transition

• Technology considerations

• Implementing and improving service transition

• Challenges, critical success factors and risks

ITIL Intermediate Service Operation (SO)

With the ITIL Intermediate Service Operation certification, you will be able to deliver the service on a continual basis and monitor it as well. You will also have the capability to manage disruptions, uncover the root cause of problems, handle end-user requests, detect trends for recurring issues and manage service access.

This certification is suited for you, if your work is related to any of the following roles:

• Release Manager

• Security Administrator

• Applications Support

• IT Operations Manager

• Database Administrator

• Problem Manager

• Service Desk and Incident Manager

• Network Support

• Security Manager

After successfully earning your ITIL Intermediate Service Operation certification, you will be knowledgeable in the following topics:

• Introduction to service operation

• Service operation principles

• Service operation processes

• Common service operation activities

• Organizing for service operation: functions

• Technology considerations

• Implementation of service operation

• Challenges, critical success factors and risks

ITIL Intermediate Continual Service Improvement (CSI)

The ITIL Intermediate Continual Service Improvement (CSI) certification shows that you have acquired sufficient knowledge in measuring and improving service levels, technology, efficiency and effectiveness of processes in the overall management of IT services of your organization.

The ITIL Intermediate CSI certification offers insights in the following areas:

• Introduction to CSI

• CSI principles

• CSI process

• CSI methods and techniques

• Organizing for CSI

• Technology considerations

• Implementing CSI

• Challenges, critical success factors and risks

All these ITIL Intermediate Lifecycle certifications ensure that you focus on the processes and practices required to deliver quality IT service management practices in your organization, and are equipped with the management capabilities to execute them successfully.